The U.S. Army has used up nearly all of its stockpile of long-range, precision surface-to-surface missiles during five months of war with Iran — a depletion that hasn't been previously reported and is raising concerns about military readiness.
The weapons in question are Army Tactical Missile Systems and the newer Precision Strike Missiles, which cost more than $1 million apiece and allow accurate strikes from a safe distance, three sources told Reuters. Two sources said "virtually all" of these munitions have been used.
ATACMS have also been central to Ukraine's ability to strike targets inside Russia, and analysts consider both systems important for any future conflict with China. A fourth source said Central Command has nearly exhausted its pre-war supply but has been able to reload from stocks elsewhere in the U.S. military.
The 80-year-old president insists the U.S. has far more munitions than anyone in the world, but critics pointed to the report as another example of his failures since launching the war in February.
"Heckuva job Petey! @SecWar," cracked The Bulwark's Tim Miller.
"All you need to know about 'grand strategy' in this administration," muttered German journalist Joerg Lau.
"It’s not quite right to say the Trump regime used up virtually all of America’s best missiles in the war on Iran this year, only to gain nothing (in fact, to lose valuable things)," said international relations professor Nicholas Grossman. "Because the Trump regime used up someone of America’s best missiles in a war in Yemen last year, only to gain nothing."
"That PrSM is low is no surprise because the production just began. But no one should pretend that the combined depletion of ATACMS/PrSM is not a huge problem," warned Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Exactly what we warned against for months!!!" shouted global affairs columnist Richard Heydarian.
"The thing is though their military was totally destroyed for 1000 years," joked columnist Jeb Lund.